• J. Gregory Grisham
  • Of Counsel
  • 80 Monroe Avenue, Suite 800
  • Brinkley Plaza
  • Memphis,TN 38103
  • 901.527.0214 fax: 901.527.8224

Mr. Grisham's practice areas include the defense of employers in discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims, wrongful discharge and whistleblower claims. He also advises and defends employers in Wage & Hour matters and lawsuits, unfair labor practice and union representation proceedings before the NLRB.

Mr. Grisham also represents employers in the enforcement of post-employment restrictive covenants such as non-compete, non-solicitation and non-disclosure agreements and handles general civil litigation, including business disputes and the defense of professional negligence claims and the defense of civil rights claims. Mr. Grisham has extensive experience in alternative dispute resolution, having represented employers in the arbitration of employment and labor related claims throughout the United States

Representative Client Work

Representation of employers in state and federal trial and appellate courts and before administrative agencies and arbitrators in 27 states in all aspects of labor and employment law litigation.

Successfully defended a national company in FLSA collective action overtime lawsuits

Successful representation of employers in NLRB union representation elections

Successfully defended a national company in lawsuits brought by the EEOC

Bar & Court Admissions

Tennessee; US Supreme Court; US District Court for Western Tennessee; US District Court for Eastern and Western Arkansas;

US Court of Appeals, Sixth, Eighth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits

Professional Affiliations

Society for Human Resources Management

Tennessee Bar Association (Labor and Employment Committee)

Memphis Bar Association (Labor and Employment Committee; Fee Dispute Committee)

The Federalist Society (Co-Chairman, Memphis Lawyers' Chapter, 2000-present and Member of The Executive Committee of the National Labor and Employment Practice Group 2006- , and a leader of The Federalist Society’s Tennessee State Court Project)

The Federal Bar Association, (Vice President Memphis/Mid-South Chapter (2010) and member of Labor & Employment Section

The Defense Research Institute (Employment Law Committee, Trucking Committee, ADR Committee)

Community Involvement

Special Judge, Shelby County General Sessions Civil Court

Member, Tennessee Advisory Committee to United States Commission on Civil Rights (2007 to present) (USCCR South Region Sub-Committee member)

1997 graduate of Leadership Collierville, served as Secretary for the Leadership Collierville Board of Trustees from 1997-2000.

Publications and Lectures

Retaliation Claims and Workplace Investigations: The Implications of Crawford vs. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee, The Job Description (DRI -April 2009).

Religion at Work: Balancing the Rights of Employees and Employers, Vol. 42, No. 9 Tennessee Bar Journal (September 2006)

The Dark Side of Fare Wars: The Sixth Circuit Takes a Fresh Look at Predatory Pricing Claims Under Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act, Engage, Vol. 8, No. 2 (June 2007)

Defending Claims Under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, The Job Description (DRI-June 2008).

Mr. Grisham has also co-authored: The Unanticipated Consequences of Employment at Will: Proving Damages in Restrictive Covenant Enforcement Cases, Engage, Vol. 7, No. 2 (October 2006)

Testing the Waters of Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Claims, Engage, Vol. 8, No. 1 (February 2007)

Title VII Retaliation Claims After White: The Struggle to Define Materially Adverse Conduct in the Context of the Reasonable Employee Standard, Engage, Vol. 10, Issue No. 1 (February 2009).

Upcoming and Recent Seminars:
2009 Tennessee SHRM Conference- Nashville, TN- "Getting a Handle on Accomodation, Attendance and Leave Issues" presented with Chip Rieger, Kristin Cabage and Tony Noel

January 21, 2010- Memphis, TN- "Hot Topics in Employment Law" to the Insurers of Memphis

January 28, 2010- Chattanooga, TN- "Fundamentals of Employment Law" presented by Sterling Education Services

February 16, 2010- Knoxville, TN- "Fundamentals of Employment Law" presented by Sterling Education Services

April 29, 2010- Memphis, TN- "The Fair Housing Act: Avoiding Housing Discrimination Claims" presented by Sterling Education Services 

May 13, 2010- Nashville, TN- "Fundamentals of Employment Law" presented by Sterling Education Services

May 25, 2010- Chattanooga, TN- "The Fair Housing Act: Avoiding Housing Discrimination Claims" presented by Sterling Education Services 

 

In The News

Mr. Grisham was recently reappointed to serve a second two year term on the Tennesseee Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights.